Irish Wake
 

Say what you want about the Irish, they know how to respect and send off the de-parted (I'm sure other cultures do as well). All the emotions in the spectrum; between the songs, booze, poems, booze, storys, booze, jokes and the booze - 56 hours later we were all ready to move on, never laughed or cried so hard.

I Agree - an Irish friend of mine passed last week at 44 years old.

He was everyone's best friend and without a doubt one of the finest men I've ever known. It is a terrible loss to his wife and his son but the party they threw was simply amazing. At the service not a single man woman or child had a dry eye but at the reception...we celebrated him and frankly the best I can do to remember him is try to be more like him.

What's the difference between an Irish wedding and an Irish wake?

One less drunken Irishman!

Used to be several funeral homes in St. Louis had bars in the basement for just such affairs. It's rare anymore.
Shame.
I always bring a cooler to a wake.
A celebration of life.
Not a macabre expense.